Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inspection system for a wire electrical discharge machine, and more particularly, to a technique for automatically performing inspection of constituent elements of the wire electrical discharge machine.
Description of the Related Art
A wire electrical discharge machine is subject to high probability of occurrence of machining trouble due to such factors as the use of a thinner wire and a larger number of expendable constituent elements, as compared with a cutting machine such as a machining center. Accordingly, there has conventionally been proposed a system in which a robot is used to automatically replace and stretch a wire of the wire electrical discharge machine.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-107381 proposes a system that comprises a wire electrical discharge machine and a robot. The wire electrical discharge machine comprises a wire remaining lifetime monitoring means and a wire replacement time determining means. The wire remaining lifetime monitoring means monitors the remaining lifetime of a wire electrode. The wire replacement time determining means determines that it is time to replace the wire electrode if the remaining lifetime is shorter than the electrical discharge machining time. The robot performs wire replacement work when the wire electrode is determined to have reached its replacement time. Moreover, Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-164519 proposes a system in which an articulated robot with a wire stretching mechanism on its hand serves to stretch a wire of a wire electrical discharge machine.
However, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-107381 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-164519 both relate to the wire monitoring and stretching mechanisms and are not designed to automate inspection, cleaning, and replacement operations for various other constituent elements than the wire, typically including expendables. Thus, it is difficult to operate the wire electrical discharge machine unattended, that is, without human intervention.